2/05/2019

John 1:31

³¹ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”

John was asked by the Jewish leaders three questions:

1.      Who are you?

2.      What are your claims for yourself?

3.      Why are you baptizing?

These were neither bad questions nor was it wrong for them to ask.  Moses had given the responsibility to the religious leadership to prove the orthodoxy of all who claimed to preach a revelation from God whether it be true or false.

John’s answers reveal these truths about his ministry to Israel.  He was sent from God by prophecy, 1:23.  Secondly he was a very humble man who knew his place and his value, 1:27.  Thirdly he identified the single overriding reason for his appearance and ministry 1:31.

If a person does not believe Jesus and His claims with the claims the New Testament writers make about Him, he does not believe any of this narrative about John the Baptizer.  The disbelief of history from the fact that you do not agree with it leaves you in a drab and lifeless world.

God’s Word has somethings that require faith, but this is God’s Word.